That’s a problem even though bumblebees are not trucked from farm to farm as honeybees are. They provide a substantial portion of worldwide pollination of flowers and food crops, especially greenhouse tomatoes, insect experts said. And the ailments are hurting bumblebees even more, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Wild bumblebees falling victim to honeybee diseases worldwide
February 21, 2014
From: The Washington Post
By Seth Borenstein
Smaller studies have shown disease going back and forth between the two kinds of bees. Brown said his is the first study to look at the problem on a larger countrywide scale and include three diseases and parasites. The study tracked nearly 750 bees in 26 sites throughout Britain. It also did lab work on captive bees to show the spread of disease.
What the study shows is that “the spillover for bees is turning into boil-over,” May Berenbaum, a University of Illinois entomology professor who was not part of the study, said by e-mail.
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